EMPLOYERS’ GROUP IBEC is cautiously optimistic that Ireland has seen the worst of the jobs crisis.

In its inaugural Jobs Report, the organisation outlined its belief that 2012 will likely be the last year of falling employment because cuts to public sector numbers are receding and the rate of decline in the domestic economy is slowing down.

According to the publication, employment will stabilise from next year but a “robust domestic recovery” will take place in 2014 at the earliest.

As the Government prepares its Budget for 2013, IBEC has urged it to take decisive action to support job creation.

“The most damaging thing the Government could do would be to add to the cost of employment,” said senior economist Reetta Suonpera. “Since 2010, budgetary measures have added €660 million per annum to the labour costs of Irish employers.”

Key figures from the report show that a total of 20,000 new jobs have been announced this year. Of those, more than a quarter were from ICT companies and over a third were IDA-supported.

However, the study warned that headline employment data will remain volatile as private sector job creation will be offset by the effects of banking and public sector lay-offs.

IBEC warned that there is still a skills gap in Ireland with vacancy rates still high in financial service and ICT sectors.

“It is clear that reskilling and retraining initiatives must remain a priority to address the skills gap and help the unemployed move to sectors with brighter employment prospects,” the report’s authors said.

Download the full report here>